1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed toward an air blow device for a dual action disc sander.
2. Description of Related Art
In modern manufacturing plants and vehicle repair facilities, it is common to have pneumatic tools for performing manufacturing/repair related tasks. These pneumatic tools use compressed air as an energy source for operation. The compressed air is supplied by a main air supply line that provides large volumes of air at a set pressure.
The pneumatic tool may be, for example, a drill for drilling holes, a saw for cutting materials, or a dual action (DA) disc sander for sanding/polishing a surface. The pneumatic tools are lightweight and traditionally operate at high speed. By operating at high speed, the pneumatic tool can quickly complete the required manufacturing/repair task.
Traditionally, a worker is faced with multiple tasks that must be performed at the worker's workstation. These tasks may or may not be related. For example, the worker may need to drill a hole in an object and then tighten a fastener that extends through the recently drilled hole. Alternatively, the tasks may be somewhat diverse in nature and only related in that the first task precipitated the second task.
For example, the worker may use the DA sander to sand/polish a portion of a painted surface (hereinafter “work area”) of a vehicle (hereinafter “workpiece”). Unfortunately, the DA sander creates airborne dust and/or debris. As such, the dust/debris may settle in/on an area of the vehicle that is not adjacent to the workpiece (hereinafter “non-work area”). Further, the non-work area where the dust/debris settles may be a somewhat confined space with reduced accessibility.
Known in the art are pneumatic tools that cut, drill, or sand (hereinafter “work”) with a blade, drill bit, or mounting disc with sandpaper (hereinafter “tool piece”), that also expel pressurized air to clear dust or debris from around the work area. Such known pneumatic tools expel the pressurized air through the nozzle any time that the tool piece is active, so as to remove dust/debris from the around the work area as the dust/debris is created. While these known pneumatic tools are effective in removing dust/debris from the workpiece during operation of the tool piece, the tools are ineffective in removing dust/debris from the non-work areas (i.e., areas remote from the work area).
Traditionally, when dust/debris settles onto the non-work area, the worker could disconnect the pneumatic tool from the main air supply line and attach an air blow gun to remove the dust/debris from the non-work area. However, disconnecting the tool and connecting the air blow gun takes additional time and effort. In a manufacturing/repair environment, the worker may opt to not remove the dust/debris from the non-work area to avoid suffering from the lost productivity attributed to changing from the tool to the air blow gun. Alternatively, dedicated air blow guns may be used to remove the dust/debris from the non-work area. However, such an arrangement is expensive and requires additional compressed air connections and space that may not be available in the manufacturing/repair environment.
Unfortunately, when dust/debris is allowed to remain in the non-work area, problems on the downstream manufacturing line or in the repair facility may be encountered. For example, the dust/debris may later become airborne again and settle in a still wet paint area of the vehicle, resulting in an appearance defect. Alternatively, the dust/debris may become dislodged during some other subsequent operation during which dust/debris is not tolerated (e.g. during final assembly) or after the vehicle is delivered to the customer.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an apparatus and method to permit a worker to operate an air blow device without operating the tool piece of the tool.